AI Reimagines Milan Through Impressionist Eyes in New Digital Exhibition

A new exhibition space, Next Area, opens in Milan at Via Paolo Sarpi, where the Finarte auction house once stood. Founded by Next Exhibition, the venue aims to host all visual arts languages, including digital and immersive experiences. Its inaugural show, "Monet e gli Impressionisti – Digital Experience," celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition, held in spring 1874 in Parisian photographer Nadar's studio. The project features multimedia pathways and immersive rooms, allowing visitors to explore the movement that revolutionized 19th-century painting. Beyond virtual artworks, the exhibition presents an unprecedented Milan painted by the Impressionists, using artificial intelligence developed by international startup MORGHY.AI, founded by Federico Morgantini. The AI reworked images of iconic Milanese landmarks—the Duomo, Navigli, Arco della Pace, Castello Sforzesco—as well as contemporary buildings like Torre Velasca and Bosco Verticale, showing how they would appear in Impressionist style. Additionally, the AI updated masterpieces by Renoir (Bal au moulin de la Galette) and Degas (L'Étoile), transforming figures and landscapes into contemporary scenes. The AI's imperfections, particularly in hands and eyes, are intentionally left visible as a curatorial choice to grant "artistic dignity" to digital creative acts.